Midseason predictions: Why we're high(er) on Arizona, Kentucky, more
Zach Edey is still Zach Edey, Michigan State hasn't impressed, and how about those Wildcats? What the first half of 2023-24 predicts for the second half.
Tons of midseason storylines, picks, predictions
- Thread starter Halldan1
- Start date
For instance
Borzello: I don't think a single-game result changes my opinion one way or the other on UConn (or anyone). The Huskies need to get fully healthy before we judge their chances to repeat. Donovan Clingan was hurt to start the season, then Stephon Castle was injured, Cam Spencer was banged up along the way and now Clingan is out again. At full health, however, I don't think there are many better teams than Dan Hurley's group. Prior to Clingan's injury, this team was playing as well as any in the country.
Medcalf: Last season, UConn won its first 14 games, 13 of them by double digits. And then, it lost five of the next six when Big East play began, three of them by double digits. I just don't think this is a team -- with Clingan out and Castle only recently looking like the player we all know he can be -- that will be rattled by a lopsided loss. The Huskies will be ready in March, and that will be the only thing that matters.
Lunardi: A history lesson might be in order when assessing UConn. Villanova (2017), Baylor (2022) and Kansas (2023) are recent defending champions who earned No. 1 seeds the following season. The Huskies are on a similar path, but it will take a major change of fortune for them to again cut down the nets. None of the teams I've listed made it out of the first weekend in their next NCAA appearance, much less won it all. That UConn is good enough to do so doesn't take away from how hard it is to repeat.
UConn lost by 15 to Seton Hall. What does this loss say (or not say) about the reigning national champ's chances to repeat?
Gasaway: Classic UConn, this is how they do it! Roll through the nonconference season (though usually the program has the good sense not to schedule a road game at Kansas), then look mediocre or occasionally worse in Big East play. Pretty soon the Huskies are unstoppable in March, and another national title is the result. It could play out like that again in 2024, who knows, but the number of future minutes played by Clingan is perhaps the key variable in play.Borzello: I don't think a single-game result changes my opinion one way or the other on UConn (or anyone). The Huskies need to get fully healthy before we judge their chances to repeat. Donovan Clingan was hurt to start the season, then Stephon Castle was injured, Cam Spencer was banged up along the way and now Clingan is out again. At full health, however, I don't think there are many better teams than Dan Hurley's group. Prior to Clingan's injury, this team was playing as well as any in the country.
Medcalf: Last season, UConn won its first 14 games, 13 of them by double digits. And then, it lost five of the next six when Big East play began, three of them by double digits. I just don't think this is a team -- with Clingan out and Castle only recently looking like the player we all know he can be -- that will be rattled by a lopsided loss. The Huskies will be ready in March, and that will be the only thing that matters.
Lunardi: A history lesson might be in order when assessing UConn. Villanova (2017), Baylor (2022) and Kansas (2023) are recent defending champions who earned No. 1 seeds the following season. The Huskies are on a similar path, but it will take a major change of fortune for them to again cut down the nets. None of the teams I've listed made it out of the first weekend in their next NCAA appearance, much less won it all. That UConn is good enough to do so doesn't take away from how hard it is to repeat.
